Tractor lubrication



' Filed Dec. 21, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 18, 1950 J. M. DAVIES ET AL2,515,552

TRACTOR LUBRICATION INVENTORS. JAMES M. DAV/E5 JOHN L. DE FFENBAUGHATTORNEY July 18, 1950 J. M. DAVIES ET AL TRACTOR LUBRICATI ON 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1945 R m H w. w. nmsm 0/ U IIIIIIIII v E u5 mwm 1. Mwmfi 5 i5: E F M M i 1 u 5 Y B nluL m r L 5 f H r 1 L U ATTORN E Y July 18, 1950 Filed Dec. 21, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Li 3 4 2a f I g4 IN VEN TORSZ JAMES M. DA WES dOfi/V L. DEFFENBAUG-ll ATTORNEY y 1950J. M. DAVIES ET AL 2,515,552

TRACTOR LUBRICATION Filed Dec. 21, 1945 4 sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS.JAMES M. DAVIES JOHN L. DEFFENBAUG-H ATTORNEY Patented July 18, 1950 Jun D vi s, and Jo n; llo ten aiueh Pe ria ll-i assi 'hor to (ioterpillalrre or (30-,

S a n Igandro, Galifl, a corporation of California Appl cation-De ember2 34.5,, Seiit -Nle 636,438;

2 laims! (01', 3985- 3 brioation an dlenn rtt ck .frames rextehd etwe nthe-main s roe etssahdifront id e-r i oh each traeh- Track r lle s-ar unot edsby hese: r ck remesto uide e d ho ort the ash he e: it ontest theound ato upp rtr We g t of I th tra tor- Theiront id ers hd-treehrollerso te on teti heryshatits wh eh er $1JDDQ 3n0R h$ ruck fram s-1Luh ioat eho the tr thr lle and-idle he r ngs: W iQh-h e uhieoteQ oheavy dut eonst tu es a; pro lem, which is: ag ra ated th ieotth t theeorms eresloeet diih e o hroziimit oheround find: ere--th r forersuroumted b dustgs ndh mutton an other. ab a iv ubstances n whith the-trae o1tma herone ett hetv t ist-an obj et ot-theepre ntinv nti ntopmv' e m n f r nplyihe ahabuhdah e of lean luhri ehtt ttre ktro etsand idle ar h scof a r k typetr c or, o. PIEPfid-fie ervoirs t et h heorisuffio h e eeity toro yi tteth nec s y eshehtarepleniehment o the-.11- b-ricantr and tQ'rdj-SPOSQ such reservoirs in, posions; adeq at lappoteetedt :r n.1 d age du in the ation. 2 h theeetops- Eur he and m rpe ifio hie tshnd dvaht sof th invent ar -ma e-enpa eh -in the fo lownespeefi on w er in a pr ferr d otmthe invention is disclosed byreference tothe aooornp anying dLhWin-g s., I

n the d awings;

Fie- 11 isan$ t l la i n of-attach ty e ractor il us t n the relative,pos tions th w fron idler; he eoh-r llersendt heelub ioant reseroirsohe-presentin eh ion;

Fi 2 v ishmleu e-ttw th part n seetionto he truo1 .f flm$. o he: tractori lust ated i The. 1;

Eig 3v s-en em ed ran verseseotionetview t u h one: i a he tru k rameseher moh,v th line 3.7-3 oi -31s,,- 1; I

Fig. his an venlh sect fragm ntary view. take on the line i--4 of Fig.3;

his. hi ection taken; on i the. line- 5-,=-5 of Fig. ,4; and I Fi a 6 isA an enla ged; vertical tran rse seet n thr uehmfroht d er ta en; .oh helinefie 1 F stv ..v dia rammat ca yi lust ates a or 5 hvirng tracks 6',and a, truck fra me assembly 1 PPIL hiQh: erevmonhtedtraek rolle One ndof. the truehf ame assemb lie piv t l pported th teletionj o the ax s oa d i n spro ke 9- nda e nts dler- H. s unted at the opposite end of thetruck frame assembly.

Bo h f hetratkro l r Bv comprises, s l trete n V i a; air of eels l ke mmb 1. joinedras .bywvelding to their aligned hubs, The

ru h ratme upohwhi ht y are moun d a e made up of etpair of, o p s d hel h ped members, Brand I4, andeach track roller, is suported onastetione y. shaft, I2 which issecur d o the. hot omsurfacesoi he e n lsi3 nd I4. gshy collars I6 and 11, respectively. The Shaft I2 isprovidedwith afloe ntrally dispo ed in,- tes el r rmed hrust llar la.whichsepe e a ha r, at b a ings flrw oh are d posed with n and seouredht:thehub. f .t e r l 8 an rotata lole with elatlon to the shaft? l2.Lubricant eals. llustrated at are di p sed at ppos te end othebeaflneaswmhlsz d a e a nta n d uhder pressure of; resi ient. thrustm m e n oatedat 22. The lubricant seals and thrust meme s. which are, ofconv n onal, n tru n, erve to preve tt esoene ofv l b i ant omthevintexiorofthe hub he th be i s ar dis osed, aswelle to. pr v nt h raof ore n metterr nto thebeerinea ahe purpose of the present nv i op dehobuhd nt upply of e n lu a t he h er ono the ol r hbs where the bea gare disposed; In order to accomplish this, one

,filliOfiheshaft, lZ is provided with an axial bore 2 1 e ehtedt beno oed, as ye threa ed plug. he. bore. itv commun cate with a ha smallerconcentr c bo e 8. h h tends to or just .hey hdthe o the shaft r, towithin ,thevioinity ot'the thrustcollar l8. Aradial passage ZSeXtendSthrou h, th thrust collar and communicates betweenuthe endofv the bore28 end heinterio of th hub. whe e n spaces ndioat detfi, interc nnec eds by p a s an t d hconstit te aslulorioante r which oht tihsthebearing9- As1 eve 2 h g an enlargedpo tion 33 at one end thereof is pressedintotheaxialhoreof the shaft l2 with its smaller endfitting in thebore28 and its enlarged end.33 closely. fitting the interior of the bore26vand lo ated betweenenair of r al apertures 34 and 35.,ihthe. ha It,vTh radial per u 4 th provides an inlet for lubricant whichis free toflow throughs hesleeve 32. and h n throu ht bore Zhahd iredia lloore laho he int rior o h track roller hub. A radial bore 36 in the shaft l2forms a communication between the interior of the hub and the annularspace between the bore 26 and the sleeve 32 so that fluid within the hubis free to pass out through the bore 36, then through such annular spaceand out through the aperture 35.

A tubular strainer or filter 38 is mounted in the frame member |3 andcommunicates with the inlet aperture 34. A stand pipe 39 is similarly.

mounted in the frame member and communi to accommodate any expansion orcontraction of cates with the aperture 35. has a flange 4| at itslowerend, as best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, and the filter .38mounted in a sleeve 42 having a similar bottom flange 43. The sleeve 42and stand pipe 39 are disposed with their respective "flanges in asuitable recess 44 in the bottom of the frame member l3 and extendupwardly through perforations in the frame member provided for theirreception. Both the sleeve 42 and standpipe 39.1nay be held in place bysingle set screw 46. having' a washer 4T overlapping the edges of theirrespec- The stand pipe 39 "tion of the tractor.

contraction will not result in differential prestive flanges. A sealingmember illustrated as a rubber gasket 48 may be inserted in the recess44 to form a seal between the shaft l2 and the frame member l3. r

A lubricant reservoir 5| is provided inside the channel member |3 foreach track roller assembly voir, the other three sides of which areformed by the web and flanges of the frame member l3. The dispositionand shape of such reservoirs are best illustrated in Figs. 1' and 2.

A suitable aperture may be provided in the frame member for thereception of a filling spout 52 for each of the reservoirs 5| with.plugs 53 serving as closure members therefor, The lubricant reservoirsthus provided are exceptionally sturdy in construction and are disposedin a space which is otherwise unoccupied and which is well protectedfrom damage as the tractor advances over rough ground or encountersobstacles which strike against the sides of the frame members l3.Furthermore, each track roller assembly is provided with an individualreservoir of sufficient size to supply lubricant in abundance and uponfailure of the lubricant seal, or other accident permitting escape oflubricant from any track roller, all of the other rollers continue to bewell lubricated. y V

In operation lubricant is supplied to the reservoirs 5| through thefiller spouts 52 and, asis apparent from Fig. 3 of the drawingslubricant entering the reservoir 5| will pass through the filter 38 andaperture 34 into the bore 26 and then through sleeve 32, bore 28 andradial bore 29 to the reservoir 3| within the hub. The radial bore 29communicates with the reservoir 3| adjacent its bottom so that upon theintroduction of lubricant any air. contained in the reservoir 3| is freeto pass outwardly through the aperture 36 and eventually up through thestand pipe 39 to be released into the reservoir 5| above the point ofentry of lubricant through the filler spoutf52r As the end of the standpipe 39terminates at a point higher than the bottom of the filler spout52' imperforate and is illustrated as extending a substantial distanceabove the bottom of the reser voir 5|. Thus, lubricant in the bottom ofthe reservoir will not flow through the filter 38 and the bottom of thereservoir constitutes a sediment trap for the collection of solidforeign substances such as any particles of scale which may form on theinterior ofthe reservoir 5| during welding.

As the filler spout 52 extends into the reservoir to a point below thetop wall thereof an air lock is provided which prevents complete fillingof the reservoir with liquid and provides an air space the liquid whichmight take place during opera- Thus, such expansion and sures sufficientto break the seals 2| through which lubricant might be lost or throughwhich foreign abrasive substances might be introduced to the lubricantreservoir 3| which contains the bearings.

'In Fig. 6 of the drawings a lubrication system similar to thathereinabove disclosed is illustrated as applied to the main idler Asmany parts of the main idler bearing assembly are similar or identicalwith the track roller bearing assemblies, the corresponding parts willbe referred to by the same reference characters as heretofore usedfollowed by the sufiix character A the shaft |2a upon which the idler IIis mounted is disposed above the frame members l3 and I4, it is providedwith a lubricant reservoir 56 formed as a casting which may be made asan as having extensions 58 to which are secured adjustable guides 59which fit within the frame members l3 and I4 and serve to permitlongitudinalsliding or adjustment of the front idler with respect to thetruck frame assembly 1. A

. passage 6| communicates between the interior of the reservoir 56 and.aperture 34 in the shaft IZa and a passage 62 communicates with a standpipe 63corresponding to the stand pipe 39'herethis point. 'The reservoir56 has a cover 66 secured in place thereon as by cap screws 67 and afiller spout 68, which in this case may be formed integrally with thecover 66, is closed by the .plug 53a. A filter corresponding to thefilter 38 maybe used in conjunction with the passage 6| but as thereservoir 56 has a removable cover which permits access to the interiorthereof for cleaning purposes, the filter may be omitted, as

56, however, this position is desirably reversed as the casting of whichthe reservoir is formed isbest protected from breakage by being disposedbetween the idler and the main frame of the tractor. Disposed in thisposition the filler spout of the reservoir 56 is, however, readily ac--cessible through the space between the spokes of .the idler.

The invention herein disclosed provides an individual adequate supply oflubricant for each of the track rollers as well as the front idlers of atrack type tractor for a long period of time and the lubricantreservoirs are all positioned both conveniently and safely in areaswhich are not otherwise occupied and wherein they do not interfereeither with operation or assembly of the various parts of the tractor.

We claim: J

1. Apparatus for lubricating a roller or the like which rotates about a,stationary shaft and which has a hollow hub portion embracing the shaftand enclosing bearings engageable with the shaft which comprises alubricant reservoir, an axial bore in the shaft, two radially disposedapertures in the shaft communicating between the reservoir and saidbore, two radial bores communicating between the axial bore and the saidhollow hub portion, and a sleeve member in the axial bore separating itinto two passages each of which connects one of said apertures with oneof said radial bores.

2. Apparatus for lubricating the track rollers of a track-type tractoror the like wherein the roller has a hollow hub containing bearing andis mounted for rotation on a stationary shaft which comprises concentricpassages in said shaft to form a lubricant passage and a vent passage,radial bores in the shaft communicating between the hollow hub and saidpassages, and radial apertures adjacent an end of the shaftcommunicating one with each of the passages to form a vent and a meansto introduce lubricant.

JAMES M. DAVIES.

JOHN L. DEFFENBAUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

